Just one season ago, when the Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks met up twice (once in the regular season and then again in the final iteration of the classic and functional Pac-12 Conference Championship Game), these two teams were basically equals. Obviously Washington was just a smidge better, but these two teams were on otherwise equal footing.
They both had high profile offenses led by quarterbacks who garnered Heisman Trophy attention. Both of these teams won double digit games last season. In fact, Oregon’s only losses were to Washington (and Washington’s only loss ended up coming in the national championship game against the Michigan Wolverines).
And things are radically different for Washington this season.
Oregon is, functionally speaking, basically still in the same place it was a season ago. They’re unbeaten with double digit wins and a potent offense led by a high profile quarterback who has garnered some hype throughout the season.
But Washington? Well, Washington is essentially in a rebuild. And that kinda stinks. And it also makes Washington’s role in this game radically different from what it was a season ago.
Storylines to watch in Washington Huskies vs. Oregon Ducks: UW’s role changed from conqueror to attempted saboteur
Instead of being on equal footing with Dan Lanning’s Ducks this season, the Huskies are underdogs in this rivalry matchup. And that’s frustrating. But there’s one good way that Washington could take out that frustration and it’d be by sabotaging Oregon’s otherwise unblemished season.
That could be a lot of fun.
This weekend, Jedd Fisch and his Washington Huskies have a chance to spoil what has been a bit of a banner year for the Oregon Ducks. Right now, Oregon already has its tickets to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Conference Championship punched. They’re trying to line up a spot in the newly expanding College Football Playoffs. And they’re pretty close to that.
The Ducks are just one game away from completing the regular season without a loss. The only team that stands in the way of things going picture perfect for Oregon? Well, that’s Washington. The role is a bit different this year. But, it’s worth noting that the Huskies really don’t have anything to lose here. They can put pressure on Oregon and create a little bit of chaos.
And I’m here for that if Fisch and the Huskies can actually pull that off. It remains to be seen if they can do that. We’ll see.